Race Report: New Years Race

It was a dark and chilly night.  And so began Iron Sherpa's conquest of the first of her 2013 resolutions. 

The New Years Race is the beginning of training for 2013.  After a winter hibernation, Iron Sherpa and I found ourselves out in the middle of downtown Los Angeles at 9 p.m. to run a half-marathon.  We expected to run for 2 to 2.5 hours and hoped that we would warm up during the run.  The temperature was in the 40's that night, which wasn't so bad once you were running.  But before the race and after the race, it felt a bit too cold.

The race course started in downtown, snaked its way up a few hills to Dodger Stadium, where we ran nearly 4 miles in the parking lot.  We enjoyed most of the course, and paused to soak in some of the spetactular skyline views from the parking lot - but at the same time, it felt like we were running laps around the stadium.  However, we were rewarded with a run around the Dodger's outfield, which in my estimation made up for spending too many miles in the parking lot.

To my surprise, there was only one water station with any nutrition - and they only had Gu.  Admittedly, we ran unprepared - I assumed they would have multiple aid stations with nutrition, like Ironman.  However, it appears that for half-marathons, this is the norm.  Iron Sherpa and I both bonked close to the end, but we ran together and pushed each other to finish and did not let the other quit or stop.  During training last year, I learned just how important nutrition and proper calorie consumption is during training and racing.  I also learned how to "read" my body and know in advance when nutrition is required to prevent bonking, so I knew bonk was imminent.  Plus, running by fragrant pizza spots along the route didn't help!

After the run, we were able to finally get some nutrition (chips, bagels and bananas) and then waited for a short bit for a few other friends.  We were sweaty and wind chill just made an otherwise somewhat chilly night into miserably freezing night.

In the end, it was a good educational experience - don't assume what will be at the aid stations, and realize that running at night is very different from running in the mornings.  Not sure I'd do it again, but at least I got some very pretty bling.